WHEAT - AGRICULTURE
News: Wheat
sowing up 3% so far this rabi season at 286.5 lakh hectare; oilseeds area up 8%
What's in the news?
● Wheat
acreage has increased 3% so far in the ongoing rabi season at 286.5 lakh
hectare mainly on higher sowing area in
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, government data showed.
Key takeaways:
● The
area under coverage for wheat, which is the major crop in rabi (winter-sown) season, stood at 278.25 lakh
hectare in the same period last year. Sowing of rabi crops starts from October.
● Higher
area under wheat has been reported mainly from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Karnataka. Acreage
is down so far in Maharashtra and Haryana.
Wheat:
● Wheat
is the second most important staple food
after rice consumed by 65% of the population in India and is likely to increase
further due to changes in food habits.
● Wheat
is mostly consumed in the form of ‘chapati’ in our country for which bread
wheat is cultivated in nearly 95 percent of the cropped area.
● Durum wheat,
which is most suitable for making macaroni, noodles, semolina and pasta
products, occupies about 4 to 5% of the area, and is predominantly grown in
Central and Peninsular parts of India.
Cultivation:
● There
are two important wheat producing zones in the country - the Ganga-Satluj
plains in the north-west and the black soil region in the Deccan.
● In
north India, wheat is sown in October - November and harvested in March -
April.
● In
south India, it is sown in September-October and harvested in December -
January.
Climate and Soil:
● Wheat
is a rabi crop that requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the
time of ripening.
● Temperature:
Between 10-15°C (Sowing time) and 21-26°C (Ripening & Harvesting) with
bright sunlight.
● Rainfall:
Around 75-100 cm.
● Soil Type:
Well-drained fertile loamy and clayey loamy (Ganga-Satluj plains and black soil
region of the Deccan).
Production:
● Top Wheat Producing
States: Uttar Pradesh > Punjab > Haryana
● Top Wheat Producing
Countries: China > India > Russia.